Men’s 800 Free Relay Earns Bronze at SEC Championships

Tuesday, February 18

Athens, Ga.

12 p.m. (Prelims) | 5:20 p.m. (Finals)

University of Georgia

SEC Swimming & Diving Championships

Photo by: Tony Walsh/UGAAA

Men’s 800 Free Relay Earns Bronze at SEC Championships

February 18, 2025 | Swimming & Diving, Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving

Tuesday Results Wednesday Prelims Heat Sheet Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

ATHENS, Ga. – A podium finish and two impressive diving performances highlighted the second day of competition for Georgia at the 2025 SEC Swimming & Diving Championships Tuesday at Bauerle Pool at Gabrielsen Natatorium.

After two days of competition, the Georgia men sit in second place with 158 points, while the Georgia women stand ninth with 104.5 points.

Fast Facts

800y Freestyle Relay – Redshirt senior Luca Urlando, sophomore Tomas Koski, graduate Jake Magahey, and senior Reese Branzell earned bronze with a school record time of 6:05.43, besting the previous top mark set at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Urlando led off with a personal-best 200y freestyle of 1:31.81, the eighth-fastest time in program history. With the medal, the Georgia men have reached the podium in the event in five of the past six seasons. On the women's side, senior Duné Coetzee, freshman Marie Landreneau, senior Rachel Stege, and junior Ieva Maluka finished fourth with an A-cut time of 6:57.77. Coetzee led off with a season-best time of 1:44.16.
Men's 3-meter Diving – Sophomore Matthew Bray and junior Renato Calderaro each contended for medals, eventually finishing fifth (393.65) and sixth (386.55) respectively. In prelims, Calderaro placed fifth at 365.70, followed by Bray in seventh at 352.35. Senior Rhett Hopkins took 20^th with a mark of 309.00.
200y Medley Relay – Urlando, redshirt sophomore Kristian Pitshugin, fifth-year Wesley Ng, and Branzell placed fifth with a season-best A-cut of 1:23.21, the fifth-fastest time in program history. The women's team of senior Eboni McCarty, freshmen Charlotte Headland and Katie Belle Sikes, and sophomore Helena Jones finished seventh with a season-best B-cut of 1:36.50. McCarty (24.05) and Jones (21.41) each turned in season-best leadoff and anchor splits.

Events
Women's 200y Medley Relay
Gold: Texas, 1:33.84
Silver: Tennessee, 1:34.27
Bronze: Florida, 1:34.34
7. Georgia, 1:36.50

Men's 200y Medley Relay
Gold: Tennessee, 1:20.22
Silver: Florida, 1:20.66
Bronze: Texas, 1:20.75
5. Georgia, 1:23.21

Men's 3-meter Diving
Gold: Carson Paul, LSU – 438.30
Silver: Conor Gesing, Florida – 417.25
Bronze: Bennett Greene, Tennessee – 416.85
5. Matthew Bray, Georgia – 393.65
7. Renato Calderaro, Georgia – 386.55

Women's 800y Freestyle Relay
Gold: Tennessee, 6:49.83
Silver: Texas, 6:51.61
Bronze: Florida, 6:53.53
4. Georgia, 6:57.77

Men's 800y Freestyle Relay
Gold: Florida, 6:02.50
Silver: Texas, 6:03.24
Bronze: Georgia, 6:05.43

Standings
Men
1. Texas, 176
2. Georgia, 158
3. Tennessee, 153.5
4. Florida, 152
5. LSU, 132
6. Alabama, 118
7. Texas A&M, 111
8. South Carolina, 110
9. Kentucky, 102
10. Auburn, 63
11. Missouri, 62.5

Women
1. Texas, 238
2. Florida, 140
3. Texas A&M, 130
4. LSU, 126
5. Tennessee, 120
6. South Carolina, 118
7. Auburn, 115.5
8. Kentucky, 115
9. Georgia, 104.5
10. Alabama, 86
11. Arkansas, 85
12. Missouri, 84
13. Vanderbilt, 56

Up Next
The SEC Swimming & Diving Championships continue Wednesday with the beginning of individual swimming events, including the 500y freestyle, 200y IM, and 50y freestyle, along with women's 3-meter diving and the 200y freestyle relay. Swimming prelims begin at 9:30 a.m., followed by diving prelims at noon and finals at 5:30 p.m. All sessions will stream live on SEC Network+, with live results available on GeorgiaDogs.com, MeetMobile, and DiveMeets.com.